Concord, Massachusetts

Concord, Massachusetts
Town
View of Concord's Main Street, looking east toward Monument Square
Seal
Motto(s):  Quam Firma Res Concordia (Latin) "How Strong Is Harmony"
Location in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Concord Show map of Greater Boston area Concord Show map of Massachusetts Concord Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 42°27′37″N 71°20′58″W / 42.46028°N 71.34944°W / 42.46028; -71.34944
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex County
Settled	1635
Incorporated	September 12, 1635[1]
Founded by	Peter Bulkley and Simon Willard
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	67.4 km2 (25.9 sq mi)
• Land	64.5 km2 (24.9 sq mi)
• Water	2.5 km2 (1.0 sq mi)
Elevation	43 m (141 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	18,491
• Density	270/km2 (710/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	01742
Area code	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-15060
GNIS feature ID	0619398
Website	www.concordma.gov

Concord (/ˈkɒŋkərd/) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491.^[2] The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the Sudbury and Assabet rivers join to form the Concord River.

The area that became the town of Concord was originally known as Musketaquid, an Algonquian word for "grassy plain." Concord was established in 1635 by a group of English settlers; by 1775, the population had grown to 1,400.^[3] As dissension between colonists in North America and the British crown intensified, 700 troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord on April 19, 1775.^[4][5] The ensuing conflict, the battles of Lexington and Concord, were the incidents (including the shot heard round the world) that triggered the American Revolutionary War.

A rich literary community developed in Concord during the mid-19th century, centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's circle included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. Major works written in Concord during this period include Alcott's novel Little Women, Emerson's essay Self-Reliance, and Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience. In this era, the now-ubiquitous Concord grape was developed in Concord by Ephraim Wales Bull.

In the 20th century, Concord developed into an affluent Boston suburb and tourist destination, drawing visitors to the Old North Bridge, Orchard House and Walden Pond. The town retains its literary culture and is home to notable authors, including Doris Kearns Goodwin, Alan Lightman and Gregory Maguire. Concord is also notable for its progressive and environmentalist politics, becoming in 2012 the first community in the United States to ban single-serving PET bottles.